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Identification Tyranny at Walgreens in Vancouver

I casually walked into the Walgreens in Vancouver, just off Main Street, with my non-sexual conforming friend, talking, flirting, and holding hands like typical Korean men. I immediately could see that some people were uncomfortable, they were not secure with an emotionally-affective duo walking into a heteronormative establishment.

My friend wanted to buy beer, and I wanted to support them. They asked me to carry a box for them because it was a bit too heavy, and I agreed. Once we get to the checkout lane, I casually hug my friend, and I see indifference building in the cashier.

My friend pulls out their ID and sufficient cash to pay for the crates of beer. The cashier then proceeds to ask me to show my ID. I said, "I'm not the one purchasing beer, I'm not legally obligated to show my ID."

The cashier then said, "yes, you're together, you do!" At that point I said, "well, I'll just leave the store then." I exited the store, and the cashier refused to sell the beer to my non-sexual conforming friend despite them having ID and enough cash to pay for the beer. The cashier then asked for the manager to become involved.

The manager refused the sale to my non-sexual conforming friend, demanding that I return to the store and show my ID. I went in and said, "I'm not the one buying the beer!"

The manager at that point decided to lie to me, and told me that it was "federal law." I replied, "absolutely not, federal law only says that states won't get highway funds if they sell beer to minors, it doesn't say anything about the person accompanying the customer needing to show ID, much less if that person has already left the store. If I were a father walking in with a child, would the child be required to show ID because he's with me? You clearly presume that we are a couple!"

The manager at that point became enraged and said, "you're together! We can't sell him the beer unless you show ID."

I said, "how do you know we are together? Am I their husband, are we married?"

At that point, the manager said, "sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave!"

I'm just curious, has America degenerated to such a level of tyranny that even children accompanying their parents to buy beer need to show ID? Do managers of large chain stores receive such poor training that they think they can blatantly lie about the law to their customers? Has Washington not uplifted itself above that level of petty discrimination? Can transgender people go one day without being harassed?